Opinion: The Top 10 Myths About California’s Legalization Measure

Proposition 64 on the November 2016 California ballot would allow adults to possess and carry an ounce of bud and eight grams of concentrate, to grow six plants per household and keep the entire harvest and to regulate a legal non-medical adult market that is estimated to be four times larger than the medical marijuana market. It is retroactive in effect and will release current prisoners and erase criminal records for potentially hundreds of thousands of adults age 21 and above.

You know what that means: The rumor mill is going crazy trying to convince people to vote against legalization. Here is a quick rundown of the Top 10 Myths About Prop 64.

1) Marijuana is already as good as legal in California: False.

Not quite. There are still serious penalties on the books including felonies that can get you years in prison. The medical-marijuana laws serve as a defense, meaning that it might be legal—but you can still be searched, arrested, booked, charged, hauled in front of a judge, held to answer, be bound over for trial and, if you lose, face fines, imprisonment, ruination of your reputation and career, etc. Prop 64 makes it a legal right for adults to have stated amounts of marijuana and a licensed privilege to engage in cannabis commerce.

9) It would be better to just repeal the laws and have no controls:False.

Any initiative has to be passed by voters, survive court challenges and avoid federal intervention. Most voters support legalization with taxes and controls. Voters want the tax revenues. Consumers want to their supply to be safe and secure and to know its potency and cannabinoid profile. Parents want their kids protected. Without those votes, Prop 64 would not pass. California’s constitution establishes rights and powers for local governments, homeowners and business operators. If those were ignored, it would be tied up in court instead of taking effect. The federal Cole Memo requires states to have “tightly restricted” and “robustly enforced” regulations. A general repeal would be an invitation to the Feds to intervene. Prop 64 takes all that into account, which is a good thing.

10) You can’t fix a ballot measure once it passes:False.

Proposition 64 legalization is retroactive and goes into effect November 9. Its business regulations take effect in 2019. It allows the legislature and regulators to make limited improvements; but they can never again make marijuana illegal for California adults.